When The Road To Watsontown Was Paved In Brick

From 1913 to 1953,  the 2.10 mile road between Watsontown and McEwensville was paved in brick.  According to McEwensville historian George Wesner, the road to McEwensville was one of the first brick roads in Pennsylvania. 

Construction began in 1912.  To prepare the surface before the brick was laid, ground was moved by horse-drawn dump wagons which were loaded by manual labor.

Some of the laborers were locals, but the majority were Italian immigrants. Very few of them could speak English. They were quartered in a labor camp which was located in a ravine on the farm of Isiah Elliot (later known as the Raup Farm)

All of the materials, sand, gravel, brick and cement were hauled by teams and horses. The only mechanical equipment used was a steam roller. 

Construction of the road was completed in the summer of 1913.

Today, the Warrior Run Womens Club holds a fundraiser on this road each year.  The road is closed to traffic and a "bike a thon" is held, where participants get sponsors and ride their bikes on this stretch of road.  It's been paved for fifty years, but when we participate in this event, I still imagine it in brick.  In my imagination, Truckenmiller Mill still stands along this road too.

 And, as far as I can tell, the brick is still under there.  In May of 1953 the brick was "covered with a two inch bituminous surface, widening nine curves and super elevating seven curves".  I could find nothing to indicate that the original brick had ever been removed.

 Workers Paving Part Of Main Street In Watsontown In Brick

In 1914,  parts of Main Street in Watsontown were paved in brick as well.

"At a special election held at Watsontown last week the borough was authorized to increase its indebtedness $12,000 for the purpose of paying the borough's share of the improvement to Main Street, which is being paved with brick. 

The road when done will be seven miles long. It starts at Springtown, leads to Dewart, then to Watsontown and on to McEwensville. The road from Watsontown to McEwensville is now paved with brick, having been completed last summer.

The street through Watsontown will vary from sixteen to thirty - two feet in width. The contractors found it impossible to make the road uniform width without making it narrow, or cutting down sixty percent of the shade trees.

The state paves eight feet of the road, the county four feet, the borough four feet and the trolley company nine feet, making twenty five feet in all. Where the road is wider than twenty five feet the extra paving is divided equally between the property holders on both sides of the street"  July 3, 1914

By 1914, there were four brick plants in Watsontown.  The Watsontown Brick & Clay Company, today Watsontown Brick, was formed in 1907, and still operates today.   The Keystone Brick Company was formed in 1910, and was located north east of the borough.  (In 1948, Keystone was acquired by Glen-Gery).   Just south of Watsontown Brick, Ferro Brick Company was incorporated in 1913.  The Milton Brick Company, located just south of Ferro Brick, on the west side of the railroad, was built in 1914.  Although it held a Milton name, it was operated and managed by Watsontown residents.

Brick streets were common throughout Pennsylvania, with many existing still today.  But wood paved streets were also common in the early 1900s, with  one still being used, in Pittsburgh.  You can read more about the wood paved street here:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-road-paved-in-wood-in-pittsburgh.html

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Find More Of Watsontown's History Here
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/04/watsontown-pa.html

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The Public Press

August 16 1912

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"The brick road leading from McEwensville to Watsontown was one of the first of its kind to be built in Pennsylvania. Construction was begun at McEwensville in 1912 and completed the following year. 

It was built by the construction firm Fiss and Christiana of Shamokin, Pennsylvania. In grading, the ground was moved by horse-drawn dump wagons which were loaded by manual labor. While some local people were employed most of the laborers were Italian immigrants. Very few could speak English. They were quartered in a labor camp which was located in a ravine on the farm of Isiah Elliot,  now owned by Samuel Raup. All the materials, sand, gravel, brick and cement were hauled by teams and horses. The only mechanical equipment used was a steam roller. . .

On an occasion when a period of bad weather had caused the operation to run behind schedule, the contractors, in an effort to catch up, requested that they work on Sunday. "

From the BIcentennial Booklet "History Of McEwensville" written by George Wesner 

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May 19, 1953

August 1968